Tamping-machine



C. G. HASTINGS.

TAMPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, ms.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEE1 l C. G. HASTlNGS.

TAMPING MACHINE.

APPUCATION FILED JULY 15. 1918.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

4 SHEE1SSHEE'I 2.

EZEEEEE c. e. HASTINGS. TAMPING MABHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, I918.

Patented Aug.- 31, 1920.

4 SHEETSS HEE] 3- C. G. HASTINGS.

TAMPING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, I918.

1,351,246. Patented Aug. 31, 1920..

4 SHEEIS-SHEE1 4.

CORNELIUS G. HASTINGFR GLENDALE, CAL IFORNIA.

TAMPING-MACHINE.

Application filed July 15, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, (lonNnLiUs GERALD Hixs'riNos, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Glendale, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tamping-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has reference more particularly to a machine for tamping ballast around the ties of a railroad track.

in railroad construction, the ties to which the rails are spiked are embedded in ballast material, which is packed around the ties to provide a substantial foundation to securely hold the ties in the proper position to support the rails. The ballast commonly used is crushed rock, gravel or other material of a stable character, and it is necessary that it must be packed firmly around and against the ties so that they will not be pounded down or otherwise displaced by the weight and vibration of the trains or other forces to which they are subjected, and it is also necessary to repack the ballast around the ties from time to time for the purpose of leveling or strengthening the track and maintaining the road bed in serviceable condition.

Heretofore it has been customary to use hand tampers or power operated tampers carried by the operator for packing the ballast around the ties, but these methods are disadvantageous, as the work so performed is slow and tedious, and moreover uniform and adequate packing of the ballast is not assured.

It is an object therefore, of my invention to provide a portable tamping machine which is movable along the railway and has power operated tamping devices thereon for firmly packing the ballast material around the ties. 7

It is a further object of my invention to provide a portable tamping machine for railroad construction, which is adapted to travel on the rails and is of simple construction and also of light weight so that it may 7 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

Serial No. 245,022.

be easily and conveniently handled and operated.

Another object of my invention is to provide a tamping device for railroad construc tion, which is mounted to move on the rails and has a power driven tamping device movable thereon transversely of the track from end to end of the ties and having the necessary adjustments to hold the same in any required position of operation.

Another object of my invention is to pro-- vide a tamping device which is mounted to travel on the rails and provided with power operated tamping devices for tamping ballast around the ties, and has one axle thereof pivoted to the frame of the device to fa cilitate removing the device from the track.

My invention has also other important objects which will apppear from the following specification and the accompanying drawings in which 1 have described and' shown my invention in a preferred form.

On the drawings:

igure 1 is a top plan view of a tamping machine embodying my improvements.

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top view of one of the tamping devices, and the supporting mechanism therefor.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, showing parts in section and parts in elevation.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the locking devices for adjusting the elevation of the tamping device.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a view of the carriage reciprocating gear on the line 99 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view on the line 10-10 of Fig. 5.

Fig. l]. is a front view of front portions of the frame showing the connection of the axle thereto.

As shown on the drawings:

The referencenumeral 1, indicates the ties and 2 the rails which are spiked thereon in the usual manner, said ties being adapted to be supportedin a suitable ballast material.

' which is packed thereabout.

3 is a truck frame which has a platform 4 thereon, and

a pair of sills 5, extending forwardly therefrom and spaced nearly the length of the ties, and connected by means of a transverse channel iron brace G, which is spaced from the platform 4, so as to provide a space tl1e1'ebet\vee11, and have the ends of the sills 5, project forwardly beyond the brace.

The rear end of the frame is supported by flanged wheels 7, which are secured under the platform 4, so as to travel on the rails 2, and at the forward end of the frameis an axle support 8,- having abearing 9, at each end, in: which is mounted the axle 10, which has the flanged wheels 11, thereon suitably spaced to engage the rails. The axle sup p'ort8, has a flat horizontal bearing plate 12, at the center upon which is engaged a flat horizontal bearing, plate 13, on the under side of and intermediate of the length of the transverse brace 6, the said plates being held'together by a central pivot bolt 14, so-

that the front axle is horizontally pivoted on the frame. The support 8, has a lug or bumper 15, at each end, above which a plate 16', is located on the t'ansverse brace 6, which prevents the frame from tilting side wise.

The pivotal connection of the front axle with the frame is adapted to facilitate theremoval of the device from the track, which is often necessary when used for repairing track upon which train service is not'suspended. This construction enables the rear end of the device to be lifted from the rails and swung around the bolt 14, asapivot, with the wheels 11, remaining on the rails,

and the front end is thereafter removed from the track, thus enabling the device to tween the corresponding racks 17, on the opposite sills 5,: and positioned adjacent and parallel with the transverse brace 6. At the inner side of each rack plate-17 a plate 19,

is pivoted on the shaft 18, and the corresponding plates 19, at opposite sides of the device are rigidlyconnected by means of a shaft 20, which is spaced substantially in a horizontal direction from the shaft 18-, so as to form together with the shaft 18, a guideway for supporting the tamping device.

Each bracket or plate 19, has an upwardly projecting arm 21,-. extending above the rack 17, said arms on opposite sidesof the device being. connected by a shaft 22, which is pivotedtherein and extends from side to side of the device so as to be readily accessible to the operator at any place between the sides of the machine. At each end of the shaft 22, outside the arm 21, there is a lever 23, fastened thereon, theouter end of which is pivot-ally connected with the pin 24, which slides in a bearing 25, on the outer face of the arm 21, and is normally held by means of the spring 26, interposedfbetween the there is a gear wheel 80, which is journaled onthe'carriage 28, and meshes with teeth 32, on the upper surface of the shaft 20, and is operated by the handle 31, whereby the carriage 28, may be moved lengthwise of the shafts 18 and 20.

The carriage 28, has a central opening to admit the hub 33, which latter has the sup porting pins 34, journaled in the carriage 28, so that the hub swings laterally on 'the device, and anair hammer 35, as shown or other suitable tamping device, has the barrel thereof slida'bly engaged in the opening through the hub 33, whereby it is-held in an upright position, so that the plunger 36, or tamper bar which is operated by the ta1n-p ing device'35, extends downwardly to. operate on the ballast'between the ties. side of the tamping device 35, there is a longitudinal rib 37, thereon which engages n3 aslot provided therefor in the hub 33', and serves as they to hold the tamping device from rotation in the hub, and the outer face of this rib 37, is provided with a plurality of perforations 38,-which are adapted to be engaged by the spring pressed latch 39,-

which'isoperated by-the handlever 40, to permit vertical adjustment of the tamping. device orto permit the tamping device to beentirely removed if desired.

The lateral movement of the camping de-- vice on the pivots 34,- is' regulated by means of a spring pressed pin 41,- which ismou-nted onv the carriage 28, and operated by the hand lever 42, and there an ar'cuate plate 43,- on the face of the hub 32, provided with notches 44, positioned to be engaged by thepin 41, to hold the camping. device invarious positions'of lateral adjustment.

vA. tank 45, for compressed air is mounted on the platform 4, and ha flexible hose 46,- for communicating compressedair from the tank 4.3,to the pneumatic tamping de vices the lengthof such hose connection being sufficient to enable the tamping device to be moved from side to side of the tamping machine without restriction and to permit the various adjustments thereof.

For supplying compressed air to the tank 45, there is an air compressor 47, which is connected therewith by means of a pipe 45, and is driven by the gasolene motor ll), or may be operated by an electric motor or any other source of power. iii drive chain 50, connect; the drive sha t of the motor with the shaft of the compressor 47, and there is a clutch 51, on the motor shaft, operable by the lever 52, whereby the driving mechanism may be disengaged for rendering the compressor 41-7, inoperative. The motor 49, may also be used to apply power to the wheels of the truck to move it along the track, and for this purpose the drive shaft of the motor has a drive chain 53, or other suitable connection with the wheels 7, whereby the operation of the motor l9, may provide power for operating the wheels 7 A clutch 54:, operated by the hand lever 55, serves to control the engagement of the driving mechanism 53, with the drive shaft of the motor, so that the operation of the track wheels 7, may be regulated at will.

The operation is as follows:

Assuming that the motor 4-9, is in operation and the tamping devices elevated above the ties, the clutch 54:, may be thrown into engagement with the shaft of the motor 49, to operate the track wheels 7, or the device may he moved by hand to a position so that the tamping devices embrace the tie which is to have the ballast material packed thereabout. There is an operator for each tamp inc; device, and when the machine has been placed in position, the tamping devices are lowered. into the operating position by disengaging the latch 39, from the rib at the side of the tamping device, and if necessary the shaft 22, is rotated to release the pins 24, from one oment with the racks 17, and the lower end of the reciprocal tamper 36, which said end may be flattened as shown 56, to providea suitable tamper head, may be adjusted to or from the side of the tie, so as to operate in the desired proximity thereto. I

The clutch 51, having been previously engagged so as to provide a quantity of compressed air in the tank 45, the tamping devices 35, are then set in operation by manipulatinp; the finger levers 57, which control admission of air thereto, and the carriage and tamping device the eon are moved transversely of the machine by operating the cranl: 31 and gear 30, which engages the teeth on the upper face of the guide rod or shaft 20, When the tamper arrives at a point adjacent the rail 2, it may be elevated by releasing the latch and passed over the rail whereupon it is lowered to the 0p crating position on the other side of the rail. The tempting device may be also swung laterally or lengthwise of the tie by releasing the pin ell, which is controlled by the lever i2, and adjusting same to a laterally inclined position. whereby the tamper may be caused to operate underneath the rail.

From the foregoing it will be observed that l have provided a tamping machine which because of its simple construction, may be made ligl'it enough so as to be readily and quickly removed from the track, and which is capable of such adjustment that it may be operated to thoroughly tamp the ballast material along the entire length of the tie.

This tamping device may be constructed vith a single tamping element arranged to operate at both sides of the tie, although I prefer to employ a separate tamping device for each side of the tie as this enables the work to be more rapidly accomplished and avoids the necessity of adjustments which would be required to enable the same tamper to opera t at both sides of the tie, and there are also other various changes and modifications which may be made without departing from the principles of my invention. I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon, otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention: 7

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a frame having track engaging wheels, a transverse guideway on the frame, an upright tamping device movable transversely on the guideway, and means for angularly adjusting the transverse guide way so as to move the lower end of the tamping device longitudinally of the frame' 2. In a device of the class described the combination of a frame having a front axle vertically pivoted thereto, flanged wheels on the front axle and at the rear end of the frame for operating on a track, and a tamping device mounted on and movable transversely of the frame.

3. In a device of the class described, a wheeled supporting frame, a transverse guideway on the frame, and a tamping device movable along said guideway, said guideway being adjustable angularly in a plane perpendicular thereto.

4;. In a device of the class described, a wheeled supporting frame, a transverse nuideway on the frame, and a tamping device movable along said guideway, said gnideway being adjustable angularly in plane perpendicular thereto, and means for adjusting the tamping device angularly in a longitudinal direction with respect to said guideway.

5. In a device of the class described. a wheeled supporting frame, a transverse guideway on the frame, and a tamping device movable along said guideway, said guideway being adjustable angularly in plane perpendicular thereto and means for a transverse axis, and a tamping device slicl- 10 adjusting the tamping device angularly in able longitudinally along the frame.

a longitudinal direction With respect to said In testimony whereof I have hereunto guideway, and means for adjusting the desubscribed my name in the presence of two vice vertically With respect to said guidesubscribing witnesses.

Way. 7 CORNELIUS. G. HASTINGS.

6. In a device of the class described, a Vitnesses: Wheeled supporting frame, a frame piv- CHARLES W. HILLS, Jr.,

otally mounted thereon for rotation about FRED E. PAESLER. 

